Pork pie recipe Melton Mowbray style

In London, pork pies are everywhere but these are the mass produced variety and vary greatly in quality. You might be from a part of the world where these have never been heard of before or you just might want to taste a home made fresh pork pie and why not, I believe it is definitely worth it. So here is a recipe for you. It is based on the Melton Mowbray recipe.


To make 1 pie:

Pastry                                    Filling
50g lard                                 225g lean pork chopped
30ml water                            125ml pork stock and 15g gelatine
113g plain flour                     Salt and Pepper
pinch of salt
1 egg

This pastry developed for the pie as it is strong and able to contain the contents of the pie while also holding its own weight in the oven. The jelly (used to be clarified butter) is added to fill any air holes in the pie. The lack of air extends the life of the pie and ensures the pie case does not crumble during transport.

• Flour, salt and 15g lard goes into a bowl and mixed together. Heat the rest of the lard and water until boiling and then add to the flour mixture and mix. Once it is cool enough knead well.
• Keep 1/4 of pastry for the lid and the rest roll into a ball and keep in fridge overnight.
• Next day take out the dough and make it pliable again by squeezing it.
• Mould the pastry around the bottom of a jam jar and push up around the jar ensuring even thickness all around until you have a hollow cylinder about 5 inches high.
• Season the chopped pork with salt and pepper and place into the hollow case.
• Roll out the pastry for the lid and use the egg (beaten) to bind the lid with the main case and crimp.
• Brush the top of the pie with egg wash, make a hole in the centre of the lid and chill overnight.
• Bake at 180℃ for about 90 mins but keep checking.
• Allow to cool.
• Dissolve the gelatine in the pork stock and pour into pie through the hole at the top and place in fridge to set the jelly.
• Remove from fridge 1 hour prior to serving.

You could always add other herbs or mixes of pork meat to the filling to experiment, you don't have to stick to the restricted guidelines that a Melton Mowbray needs to stick to.